Fast functioning thyroid gland

What are the symptoms of a too fast functioning thyroid gland with the cat: 
• More appetite than normal
• Losing weight despite a lot of eating!
• Starting to drink and urinate more
• Restless and active, especially at night

We can check the cat and examine if there are symptoms which might mean a thyroid gland problem:
• The cat will have more thyroid gland hormones in his blood than usually because of the increased thyroid gland functioning. You might say that “the motor runs too fast” and the cat cannot keep up with this, despite of the fact that he eats more: the cat will lose weight despite of a good appetite
• Due to the increased metabolism the cat gets hyperactive and restless.
• The cat will start drinking and urinating more.
• Due to the high metabolism the heart must work much faster and the cat’s heartbeat is higher than usual. You can perfectly observe this during a physical examination.
• Often, the enlarged thyroid gland can be felt in the neck.

There are a number of possibilities to treat hyperthyroid with the cat. The most effective way is through surgery. The enlarged thyroid gland is removed then. The other thyroid gland stays present and takes over the task. Before surgery it is important to reduce the cat’s metabolism so that the body can get some rest. During 2-3 weeks before surgery we start with carbimazolum in order to curb the thyroid gland. In order to support the heart and to reduce the heartbeat the cat will get the medicine atenolol.
If the cat is too old or has lost too much weight, we don’t advise a surgery. By means of medicines a bearable situation can be obtained. These medicines must be administered daily during the cat’s whole life and besides these medicines might have nasty side effects.

During surgery the anaesthetic is the largest risk. For this reason we want the cat to get stronger first. We give an adapted quantity of aneasthetic and place the cat at the gas narcosis. The skin is shaved and disinfected. An incision in the neck is made and a couple of muscles are cleaved. We then look for the thyroid gland. The blood vessels are tied off and the parathyroid gland is separated from the thyroid gland. Everything is stitched now and the cat will recover on a heated spot.
 
10 days upon surgery Sampie returns to have his stitches removed. We immediately weigh Sampie and he has gained 110 grams during those 10 days. He is less focused on eating and he is quieter than before the surgery. The owner believes that his old cat is back again. 1 month upon surgery the blood is tested and it is checked if the remaining thyroid gland has taken over the function and that this gland doesn’t also function too fast.